Atherosclerosis is a specific form of arteriosclerosis, caused by thickening artery walls and plaque formation. Hemodynamic forces, including wall shear stress (WSS) and axial plaque stress (APS), may affect the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis. In particular, wall shear stress may affect the progression of coronary plaques, while axial plaque stress (APS), which is the axial component of traction, may influence the risk of plaque rupture. Since these hemodynamic parameters may have unique characteristics in lesions as compared to conventional metrics, e.g., lesion severity or fractional flow reserve (FFR), considering these hemodynamic forces in the clinical decision-making process may improve the risk stratification of plaques and ultimately help patient care.
Axial plaque stress may correlate to radius gradient in a patient's vascular geometry. Radius gradient may incorporate clinically relevant geometric parameters, including lesion length, minimum lumen area, and stenosis severity. Thus, a desire exists for a method of providing a patient-specific evaluation of axial plaque stress and radius gradient to provide improved treatment strategies for vascular disease. Furthermore, a desire exists for a method of monitoring hemodynamic parameters (e.g., axial plaque stress, radius gradient, etc.) for discharged outpatients in order to provide continued personalized care.